Addressing his seventh state of city, the mayor of Milwakee Tom Barret has made it crystal clear that his focus would only be to reduce the crime rates and increase the job opportunities in the state. Mayor Barrett announced hundreds of jobs will soon be coming to the Menomonee Valley.

Barrett was quoted saying that the announcement was intended to welcome the Ingeteam executives, not to boost his gubernatorial campaign. Barrett also acknowledged the role of tax credits, but said that bolstered his own stand that tax incentives should be tied directly to job creation. Overall, crime in the city was down 7.2% in 2009. Violent crime was down nearly 13% and down 20% over the past two years.

Ingeteam, a Spanish manufacturer of wind-turbine generators, will locate its new factory in the Menomonee Valley, Gale Klappa, co-chairman of the Milwaukee 7 economic development coalition, announced Monday. Ingeteam chose the valley because of its proximity to workers, I-94 and Spanish-speaking neighborhoods, as well as Milwaukee's great reputation for manufacturing. This will be Ingeteam's first manufacturing facility in North America.

While Monday's announcement drew praise from all sides, it also offered an occasion for a bit of political spin on who deserved the credit for landing the plant.